Demonic Devourer's Development

He wasn\'t smiling after I presented him the prototype of the magic flight device I made together with Pest in an hour. Well, he only enchanted the flight rocks—I bound them together with webs, as well as balanced the ballast in the web basket at the bottom. The basket was only big enough for a single person, but a single person was all that we had, anyway.

"You want me to fly up and down the Abyss in THAT?" The Master of Sin\'s eyes flickered between me and the flight device. No amount of composure could hide his anxiety at the moment. "For something that… unreliable, there had to be a test. I will order someone else to try it out."

"Whoever gets in needs to be powerful enough to thwart attacks from birds, at least. My webs are strong, but what\'s the point if you get torn apart in the air? Besides, there\'s no sense in sending weaklings to Limbo. Don\'t you know what a chaotic mess of a constant carnage it is?"

Already sour face of the Master of Sin soured even more. "You don\'t have to remind me, Devourer. I wasn\'t lucky enough to fly past it on my rebirth, and I still remember being snatched by some harpooner. Some of the fresh souls try to land in Limbo on their own—fools. If they knew better, they\'d jump into the Abyss by themselves to avoid that fate. You can only crash to your death once, but you can be killed for the flesh in your body many, many times until you will finally slip to the Wheel of Reincarnation."

He shook his head and let out a long breath. "So yes, you are right that whoever comes should be strong. But I won\'t be strong enough and I won\'t go, even if you kill me. I will, though, accept being sent to Cocytus… though, I\'ve never been there before."

"It\'s freezing. Wind there is awful. But I don\'t think that will be a problem for you." I gave a pointed look to the Master of Sin\'s calloused skin. "I suppose I can send some suicide messengers to Limbo… give them writings, so even if they get killed, they share the news."

"That will work, if you are so unwilling to just fly there yourself on your mighty wings." The Master of Sin nodded. He was still unhappy with the idea of getting to Limbo… Really, I couldn\'t blame him.

I didn\'t want to go there myself. The place was just awful, even by my standards. I was lucky to not have been dropped there when I just came to Hell—thanks to the First God, as I now learnt—but I visited it later, searching for EXP and abilities, and almost died at the hands of the locals. Now I was stronger, but that didn\'t make Limbo any better.

You\'d think that being the place with the best climate, with the Abyss constantly throwing down fresh meat, with even a river Acheron at the edge to provide water, would be a paradise compared to the other circles, but no. All that only led to more people climbing up the Abyss, hoping to find a better place there, in Limbo, and staying for these natural resources… only for there to end up not being enough for all of them.

And Hell, in general, didn\'t breed compassion and generosity in people. Instead, it bred savagery, violence and egoism. The result, combined with Limbo\'s population, was a nightmare.

Yeah, better to jump down to calmer, less populated circles.

"Actually, I have something important that only I can do," I said instead of all that, giving the Master of Sin a narrow-eyed look. "I have to prepare a trap. I have an information that the first fly might arrive to my webs soon. Possibly before we can prepare an army, even."

The Master of Sin was taken aback. "What? Then I definitely will fly to Cocytus as soon as I can. Maybe I will even bring you a good fighter or two. Meanwhile, you can take my Enforcers. You tried them yourself—they are good. I already told them to follow your orders like they follow mine, and they are a loyal bunch—as long as I keep them comfortable."

"Their tactic is too rigid… But I will think about it. Go. I will take care of your harem while you\'re gone." I grinned, remembering the Master of Sin\'s girls.

"What? Hey, they are mine, Devourer! Almost whole! Find your own." The Master of Sin bristled so much that even the long needles that replaced his hair stood up on their ends. He pointed a finger at me. "Have some respect!"

I laughed. To think, these two women were such a point of importance to the demon! From the flashes of his thoughts, I could tell that they were just his toys. He played games with them, often cruel ones, he slept with them and he enjoyed their beauty and their stories… Yet, despite that, he was so possessive about them.

"Oh, don\'t worry, Sin, I have my own harem waiting back in the mortal realm," I couldn\'t help but brag. "All whole, young and fresh, and totally devoted to me."

"Only the best for the best..," the Master of Sin said without much sincerity. He really hoped now to get to the mortal realm and test the local beauties for himself one day. Not maimed, not scarred, ones that have never seen violence before… Another stimulus to go on with the mission I gave him.

He went for the flight device. "So, I sit in there, then put rocks in or out until it flies up or down. What if I need to go to the side?"

"Then you have problems. But my suggestion? Try a grappling hook. You\'ll need a bow to shoot at people, anyway, so might take a harpoon with it. And if the flight device breaks, try to stick to the Abyss.. I might go check on you in a week if you don\'t return by then."